Take care of yourself

Got the mile pace for six miles down to 7:06 today, including a 6:49 split.

 

Fuck you.

 

I am surprised the Chicago marathon event does not include a half-marathon. Just a 5K, or the full marathon. Maybe the course layout makes a 13.1-mile route difficult to work in.

My guess is quite a few runners might try to run the half. I know at my age and dimensions (6-foot-2, 230s) it's the longest distance I could imagine doing. And it would take a LOT of training to cover a respectable 13.1 (I managed 7.5 miles in May).

 

Have you ever run Chicago? Way too many damn people as it is.

 

That's what I thought. Too many people and not a viable route/room for the half-marathoners.

Closest I ever came to running the "Chicago Marathon" was the five-mile Shamrock Shuffle fun run, about 10-15 years ago. And that was in March, not October. Basically a five-mile-long beer line ...

 

So today I averaged 6:57 over six miles, including four sub-7s out of the gate and a best split of 6:44.

This is kind of fascinating to me. I have a 5K coming up in less than two weeks, my first one ever. I guess I'm just going to sell out and try to break off three consecutive 6:30s or so, or go down trying.

The other thing is I'm 39 years old. So I've kind of discovered I have an aptitude for this, which is great. (I've always run, but never really pushed myself, speed-wise, like this. Granted, I'd still be like the fourth guy on a bad high school cross country team. But still.) But I'm probably already well past my prime, and, at some point in the not-so-distant future, I'll start slowing down no matter how hard I keep working, which really sucks.

 

Ran a mile in 6:16 this morning. My 5K is 10 days from now.

 

Six days to my 5K. Ran six miles today at a 6:53 pace. First two miles were run at 6:37.

 

Back on the horse the last two days. We've got a unit fitness competition going, measured by percent increase/decrease in 10 events:

Bench, squad, deadlift, pull-ups, dips, 2-mile run, 10K bike, 5-minute jump rope, 2-minute box jump, 250M SKED drag with a 250 pound dummy (

)

Maxed bench at 255 yesterday, followed by 475 jump ropes(?) and 30 dips; today was deadlift at 365 (and left 10 or 15 pounds out there), and a disappointing squat at 335, followed by 18 pull-ups

 

5K was today. Finished in 20:29.

 

That's a good time, DW. Off the top of my head, right around a 6:30 pace. Well done!

 

Thanks.

6:37 pace.